Located deep within the rolling hills of Scotland lurks a creature of great destruction; a being with an unquenchable appetite for victory and unwavering determination to conquer. No, I am not speaking of the Loch Ness Monster, but rather of Peter Latimer. Armed with a forceful Callaway 5T3 driver and a YES Tracy II putter, Latimer took the course for the Royal Dornoch Golf Carnegie Shield Tournament finals Aug. 11 in his native Scotland. After a close match, he captured the victory on the 17th hole.
Latimer received the Carnegie Shield trophy, standing 3 feet in diameter with Dornoch landmarks engraved in silver medallions, after defeating defending champion Jimmy Gunn. The shield was donated by multimillionaire philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1901 for the annual competition.
The Royal Dornoch Club course, recognized as one of the toughest in Scotland and most beautiful in the world, rests on the North Sea coast of the Scottish Highlands and attracts some of the best Scottish amateurs.
Guilford alumnus Andrew Biggadike ’02 was among the competitors and lost to Latimer in the semifinals. Biggadike, a three-time Guilford All-American and Carnegie Shield champion in 2002 and 2005, recommended Latimer to Guilford head coach Jack Jensen after beating him in the 2005 Carnegie Shield semifinals.
“I was not too surprised at Peter’s success at Royal Dornoch, since he had been going there for the past three years to compete,” said Jensen “He has improved tremendously since arriving in Greensboro last August.”
Latimer will compete against another Scottish native at Guilford this spring, as childhood friend Liam McGowan joins him on the Quaker’s golf team.
“Peter has always been a competitor of mine in golf, which makes it a fun and far more enjoyable experience for me,” says McGowan. “Now that I am playing at Guilford, I can continue to compete with Peter. We both strive to push each other to that next level.”
Latimer will look to build upon his successful 2007 season with McGowan in the 2008 season. Latimer was a First Team All ODAC honoree last season and was awarded the league’s Golfer of the Week award twice.